It is well known that certain consumable products in the foods, beverages and drugs industries contain bitter substances that are detrimental to the overall flavour impact of the product being consumed. In order to deal with this, manufacturers have gone to great lengths to mask or even remove the offending products.
The problem is particularly acute in beverages such as beer, coffee, and soft drinks where it is believed that the presence of polyphenols, such as chlorogenic acid lactones or flavonoids, contribute significantly to bitterness perception by consumers.
Nevertheless, many polyphenols or flavonoids found in foodstuffs are beneficial anti-oxidants which, when consumed, scavenge so-called “free radicals” or modulate human or animal gene expression and so provide nutritional or health benefits to the consumer. For a more detailed understanding of the beneficial effects of flavonoids, for instance, see “Flavonoids: A review of probable mechanisms of action and potential applications”, Nijveldt et al, Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 74:418-25.
Therefore, it would be desirable to mask or otherwise inhibit the undesirable flavours imparted by such ingredients without detrimentally affecting their beneficial effect.
It is also known to extract these beneficial ingredients from foodstuffs so as to provide them in an isolated form, such as a nutritional supplement, which can be consumed in order to receive the benefit directly. However, in this concentrated form, the risk of consumer rejection due to the bitterness of the product is even more acute.
For such products, it would also be desirable to provide them in a more palatable format with the perception of unpleasant bitterness significantly reduced or even removed entirely.
A further problem with such active ingredients is that they are highly sensitive to oxidation. Therefore, it would also be desirable to provide a system that is capable of protecting the active ingredients against such degradation.
JP 2003-128664 describes neutralizing polyphenols to the corresponding sodium, calcium, magnesium or potassium salt in order to reduce of bitterness. This method forms large particles that change dramatically the appearance of drinks (such as tea) and even generates undesirable sediment.
In JP 2003-366456 (Taiyo Kagaku KK) the bitterness and astringency in beverages and foods is said to be decreased by the addition of casein.
In JP 04-103771 (Unitika KK), a tea extract is prepared by blending tea with chitin so as to eliminate bitterness and astringency.
US-A1-2002/0188019 (Bayer Corporation) describes preparations comprising certain hydroxyflavanones which are said to mask bitter or metallic taste sensations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,505 (Mars) describes using inorganic coatings to provide an oxygen barrier to increase the shelf-life of foods and pharmaceutical products. The coating does not interact with the encapsulated product.
US 2004/0180097 (Lin et al) refers to a stable and/or taste-masked pharmaceutical dosage form comprising porous apatite grains and a drug entrapped in the pores. The product is formed by contacting blank porous apatite grains, typically in the form of slurry, with a solution of the drug and evaporating the solvent of the solution in order to entrap the drug in the porous apatite grains. Thus, there will be a high concentration of the drug at or near the surface of the granules with little or no complexation between the granules and the entrapped drug.
Finally, there are numerous products available to the public in which a liquid active ingredient, such as garlic oil, is encapsulated in a transparent shell. These capsules are very large, typically having a diameter of up to 5 to 10 mm.
It would also be desirable to provide particles having a diameter that is, at most, barely noticeable with the naked eye. Such particles are then suitable for incorporation into products, especially beverages, where the presence of visible particles is undesirable. For instance, tea is usually presented as a transparent drink (prior to the optional addition of milk) and the presence of visible particles therein would be deleterious to consumer appeal.
Various studies have also shown that the beneficial effects on health due to, for instance polyphenols, can be increased by the delivery of the intact active to the digestive system.
Thus, it would be desirable to protect the active ingredient in such a way that release is triggered by physical conditions present in the stomach or digestive system but which are not present during conventional storage or in the oral cavity.
The present invention seeks to address one or more of the abovementioned problems and/or to provide one or more of the abovementioned benefits.